Fluent material container and dispenser

ABSTRACT

A fluent material containing and dispensing apparatus including a hopper having four sidewalls. A tube mounts to one of the sidewalls, and an auger extends from one end of the tube to the opposite end of the hopper, driving material in the hopper through the tube when the auger is rotated. A flexible hose is mounted to the underside of the tube and material in the tube pours into the hose, which can be kinked to slow or stop flow of material. A gap is formed between the outer surfaces of the auger and the tube wall. A radially inwardly extending flange can be mounted to the tube wall to slow the flow of material through the gap. Alternatively, a compressible sleeve can be mounted in the gap between the outer surfaces of the auger and the tube wall extending a substantial length of the tube.

This application is a continuation of pending U.S. application Ser. No.09/680,682, filed Oct. 6, 2000, which is a continuation of Ser. No.09/413,618 filed Oct. 6, 1999 U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,249 issued Mar. 27,2001, which is a Continuation-In-Part of Ser. No. 09/241,815 filed onFeb. 2, 1999 U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,955 issued Sep. 5, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a container for dispensing fluent material,including slurries, high viscosity liquids and particulate matter suchas gravel, sand and dust.

2. Description of the Related Art

Solid concrete walls are made from assembling wood or metal plates toform a mould having a void that is filled with concrete. Hollow concretewalls are commonly constructed by stacking and cementing hollow concreteblocks on one another. The concrete block wall's interior surfaces canserve as a mould for wet cement that is poured into the voids andsubsequently hardens to make the wall solid concrete. This is referredto as “grouting” a wall, and the concrete slurry that is poured duringgrouting is referred to as grout.

Solid concrete walls, however they are made, are stronger than hollowwalls. Furthermore, solid walls can have reinforcing devices, such asreinforcement bars and wires, inserted in the concrete prior to curingto further strengthen them. However, grouting walls is difficult work.

Conventionally, concrete walls and other concrete structures are pouredor filled by pumping wet concrete long distances through hoses fromtrucks, or using the “bucket and shovel” method in which buckets arehand loaded, carried and dumped into the moulds. Both of these methodshave disadvantages, including expensive labor or equipment and longcompletion times.

Alternatively, people have used hoppers with chutes that directconcrete, but such chutes are prone to overflow if the flow of concreteis stopped at the discharge end of the chute. The use of a pump andhoses is a cumbersome process that requires starting and stopping thepump, which does not immediately stop the movement of the flowingconcrete in the hose due to the concrete's inertia. A shutoff valve atthe discharge end of hoses is necessary to immediately stop the flow.However, such valves are complex and normally do not last in theenvironment of wet concrete, even if they are cleaned, which itself is adifficult process. Concrete tends to harden on moving valve parts,eventually preventing movement and thereby rendering the valve useless.

Therefore, there is a need for a device that permits rapid, inexpensiveand accurate filling of voids in block walls and other moulds. Such adevice should limit the amount of spilled concrete, and permit maximumcontrol for the person pouring the concrete.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is an apparatus for containing and dispensing fluentmaterial. The apparatus includes four main elements: a hopper, anelongated tube, an elongated auger and a hand-flexible hose. Theelements cooperate in such a manner to overcome disadvantages in theprior art. With the present invention, the material drive member, whichis the auger, does not need to be shut off during grouting when theoperator needs to move to another opening. Furthermore, there is littleor no danger of damage to the auger if large particulate matter, such asa stone, becomes lodged between the lands of the auger and the tubesidewall.

The hopper has a first sidewall including a tube aperture, a secondsidewall, and two other sidewalls. All sidewalls have substantiallyequal length. The sidewalls are joined at four intersecting comers anddefine a material-containing chamber with an open top end for receivingfluent material.

The elongated tube is rigidly connected at a hopper end of the tube tothe first sidewall of the hopper. The tube extends to an opposite, hoseend of the tube spaced from the hopper end of the tube. The tube has acylindrical tube wall including an interior surface that defines a tubepassage. The tube passage is aligned with the tube aperture and extendsfrom the hose end of the tube through the tube aperture to thematerial-containing chamber of the hopper.

The elongated auger is mounted within the tube passage and extendssubstantially coaxially with the tube from a first bearing mounted nearthe hose end of the tube, through the tube aperture to a second bearing,preferably a motor, mounted near the second sidewall of the hopper. Aradial gap is formed between the outer surface of the auger and theinterior surface of the tube wall.

The hose has hand-flexible sidewalls, an interior surface defining ahose passage and openings at opposite first and second ends. The firsthose end is mounted to a hose mount formed on the tube near the tube'shose end. The hose passage communicates with the tube passage.

During operation, the auger rotates, driving material from the hopperthrough the tube toward the hose. As the operator discharges materialfrom the discharge end of the hose, the void into which the material isdirected becomes full, necessitating moving the hose to another void.The operator merely pinches the hose closed with his or her hands andpulls the flexible hose to the next void. The auger need not be stoppedduring this movement, because flow through the hose is blocked by thepinched part of the hose, thereby stopping flow of material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective illustrating the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view in section through the line 3—3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top view illustrating the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 is a top view illustrating an alternative embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a view in perspective illustrating the present invention inoperation and mounted on a forklift.

FIG. 7 is a view in perspective illustrating the present invention on aforklift.

FIG. 8 is a side exploded view illustrating the tube and auger elements.

FIG. 9 is a view in perspective illustrating the support mechanisms forthe hopper.

FIG. 10 is a side view illustrating the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 11 is a side view in section illustrating an alternative embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a view in perspective illustrating the mechanism at the backof one of the forklift-receiving box-beams that locks the box-beams tothe forklift.

FIG. 13 is a side view illustrating the hydraulic hose rest.

FIG. 14 is a side view in section illustrating the threaded plug of thehose rest.

In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention which isillustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted tofor the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the inventionbe limited to the specific terms so selected and it is to be understoodthat each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operatein a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose. For example, theword connected or terms similar thereto are often used:. They are notlimited to direct connection but include connection through otherelements where such connection is recognized as being equivalent bythose skilled in the art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1-4.As discussed above, the invention includes four main cooperating parts:the hopper 10, the tube 20, the auger 50 and the hose 84.

The hopper 10 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 having four substantially equallength sidewalls 12, 14, 16 and 18. The sidewalls join at intersectingcorners to form an interior chamber 11 defined by the sidewalls. Thesidewalls 14 and i 8 have inwardly sloped lower sections that directmaterial in the lower portion of the chamber 11 toward the chamber'scenter. The chamber 11 contains approximately three-quarters of a cubicyard of material, and is substantially square when viewed from the topfor positioning the center of gravity of the material contained in thechamber near the center of the hopper.

The front sidewall 12 of the hopper has an aperture (not shown) near itslower edge that opens into the chamber 11. The hollow, cylindrical tube20 attaches to the front sidewall 12 with a cylindrical passage in thetube 20 aligned with the aperture in the front sidewall 12. Thecylindrical tube passage is defined by the interior surface 22 of thetube wall 24 that is preferably circular in section, but could beelliptical or any other polygon shape. Approximately the lower half ofthe tube wall 24 extends beyond the front sidewall 12 to the oppositesidewall 16 to form the bottom wall of the hopper 10. The lateral edgesof this lower half are attached to the lower edges of the sidewalls 14and 18.

The tube 20 is divided along its length into two sections. The fixedsection 32 is rigidly mounted to the hopper 10. The removable section 30mounts to the end of the fixed section 32 farthest from the hopper 10.The connector lip 26 extends around the entire periphery of one end ofthe removable section 30. The connector lip 28 extends around the entireperiphery of one end of the fixed section 32. When the sections 30 and32 are mounted together, the lip 26 is aligned with the lip 28, andscrews extend from the lip 28 through aligned holes in the lip 26. Nutsare threaded onto the screws to rigidly fix the removable section 30 tothe fixed section 32.

An auger 50 is mounted inside the tube 20, extending from a bearing 52in the tube endcap 54 to another bearing, preferably the hydraulic motor56, mounted to the sidewall 16. The bearing 52 is preferably a lowfunction polymer, such as that sold under the trademark DELRIN, having arecess into which the auger's end is inserted. The hydraulic motor 56 isa conventional motor having a driveshaft into which the square, oralternatively the spline, shaft of the auger 50 mounts in a conventionalmanner. The auger 50 can be removed with access at only one end, becausethere is no complex connection at the motor 56.

The motor 56 is preferably connected to the hydraulic lines of aconventional forklift for driving the motor 56 in a manner that isapparent to those skilled in forklift technology. Of course, anelectric, pneumatic, internal combustion or any other conventional motorcould be substituted for the preferred motor 56, as will be apparent toone of ordinary skill in the art.

The endcap 54 is removably mounted to the free end of the tube 30 byconventional means, such as a pair of bolts 58 and 59 that extendthrough ears 60 and 61 formed on the exterior surface of the tube wall24 and through ears 62 and 63 mounted to opposite sides of the endcap54. Upon removal of the endcap 54 by removing the bolts 58 and 59 fromthe ears 62 and 63, the auger can be removed simply by grasping thecross bar 66 shown in FIG. 3 and pulling, thereby withdrawing theopposite end from its matingly engaged connection with the driveshaft ofthe hydraulic motor 56.

On the underside of the tube 20 is a hose mount 82, which is an annulartube mounted at its upper end to the tube 20. The tube 20 has a hoseaperture 80 formed in its underside (see FIG. 3) that is aligned with apassage in the hose mount 82. The hose 84 mounts to the lower end of thehose mount 82, and the passage within the hose, as defined by theinterior surface of the flexible hose sidewalls, is in fluidcommunication with the passage in the hose mount 82, and therefore thepassage in the tube 20.

The hose 84 is hand-flexible, which is defined for the purposes of thepresent invention as able to be substantially deformed by the averagehuman's hand when the hose is in operating conditions (humidity,temperature, etc.). For example, a hand-flexible hose includes aconventional garden hose and a conventional rubber-lined,fabric-reinforced fire hose.

Upon rotation by the hydraulic motor, the auger 50 drives fluentmaterial contained in the hopper chamber 11 toward the endcap 54. Fluentmaterial is defined as material that can flow, and includes highviscosity liquids, such as molasses and sludge, concrete or any otherslurry, and particulate matter such as sand, gravel, coal, iron ore,soil, powder, wood chips and other particulate matter. The rotary motionof the auger 50 drives such material in a conventional manner. Thisdriving force of the auger impels the material from the tube 20 throughthe hose aperture 80, through the hose mount 82 and into the hose 84(see FIGS. 1 and 3). The material eventually pours out the discharge endof the hose that is opposite the end attached to the tube 20.

The hopper and tube combination is mounted on a plate 90 that issupported from beneath by four inverted rollers 92, 93, 94 and 95 shownin FIGS. 1 and 2. Each of the rollers 92-95 includes a pair of spacedplates with a wheel rotatably mounted in the space between the plates byan axle extending from one plate through the wheel to the other plate.The outer peripheral edge of the wheels seat against the underside ofthe plate 90 at 90 degree intervals around the central post 96, which isa hollow tube into which a shaft. (not shown) extends downwardly fromthe plate 90. The hopper 10 can rotate 360° about the central post 96,and the rollers 92-95 support the hopper 10 at positions that are spacedradially from the central post 96. As the hopper rotates, the wheelsroll against the underside of the plate 90, thereby supporting the plate90 and the hopper. The wheels are preferably aligned with their axes ofrotation crossing at the central post 96. This configuration provides avery stable structure that permits rotation of the hopper and tubecombination while preventing tipping over. Rotation also permits spaceto be reduced for shipping by rotating until the tube is extended theleast distance from the rest of the machine.

The lower ends of the plates of the rollers are rigidly mounted to thetop surface of the plate 98 with the outer peripheral surface of thewheels thereof spaced above the plate 98. A pair of parallelforklift-receiving box-beams 100 and 102 are mounted to the underside ofthe plate 98. The box-beams 100 and 102 receive the forks of aconventional forklift 104 that can support the entire apparatus as shownin FIGS. 6 and 7.

The inverted rollers 92-95 provide a substantial advantage to thepresent invention. There is a clearance gap, on the order of thewheels'diameter, between the upper surface of the plate 98 and thelowest extreme of the outer peripheral edge of the wheels of therollers. This clearance gap is large enough that any material that poolsup on the plate 98 will flow off the plate 98 before it becomes deepenough to contact the lower edge of the wheels of the rollers 92-95. Asa result, this material cannot stick to the wheels and get between thewheels and the plate 90 against which the rollers'wheels seat.Therefore, the inverted rollers'structure prevents material in thehopper that spills out from interfering with the rotation of the hopperor support by the rollers 92-95.

The cooperation between the auger, the tube and other structures isimportant. In one embodiment, the outer surface of the auger 50 isspaced from the interior surface 22 of the tube wall, forming a gap. Thepreferred gap is approximately one and one quarter inches, which permitsuse of the apparatus with three-quarter inch aggregate. The gap sizecould be made to be from one half inch to two inches with similarfunctioning of the machine. The variation could be even greater, forexample from between one eighth inch to more than two inches, butdisadvantages relating to pressure and particle size may make such gapsizes prohibitive. There could, of course, be essentially no gap,resulting in wear. However, such a structure may be desirable under somecircumstances, such as when materials that may crush easily, such aslime dust, crusted sand are being used. Other materials that may requiresuch a structure include metal shavings.

The gap between the outer surface of the auger 50 and the tube wall 24prevents a high pressure from being created between the interior chamber11 of the hopper 10 and the interior passage of the hose 84 that wouldexist without the gap. The high pressure would make it difficult to stopflow of the material without building substantial pressure in the tubeand hose. A smaller gap would create more pressure, and a larger gapwould create less. Smaller particulate could bind in a smaller gap, anda larger gap would permit larger particles to pass through. The size ofthe gap is determined by the material to be dispensed, and the preferredfrequency of replacing the auger or tube.

The sections 30 and 32 of the tube 20 clampingly retain the flangebetween the connector lips 26 and 28. The flange is preferably aone-half inch thick rubber or polyurethane plate having an orifice inits center defined by an inner surface 71 for permitting the auger 50 topass therethrough. The flange is positioned to limit the flow ofmaterial from the fixed section 32 of the tube to the removable section30 by occupying, at one point along the length of the auger 50, the gapbetween the outer surface of the auger 50 and the interior surface 22 ofthe tube wall 24. The flange 70 prevents extremely low viscosity (lowslump) slurries from simply emptying into the hose 84 under the force ofgravity and the pressure created thereby in the tube and chamber 11.

The internal flange edge that defines the orifice in the flange 70preferably seats against the lands of the auger 50. Alternatively theorifice could have a diameter that is larger than the outer diameter ofthe auger, thereby forming a gap between the interior surface 71 and theouter surface of the auger 50, but a gap smaller than that between thetube wall 24 and the outer surfaces of the auger. This would provide asimilar effect to the preferred embodiment, although less of one thanwhen there is no gap. This alternative embodiment would permit largerparticles to pass through the orifice of the flange, and would make theslurry material flow more quickly than the same material in thepreferred embodiment.

While the auger is rotating, the flange expands outwardly, permittingslurry material to pass through. Once the auger is stopped, the flangecontracts around the auger, thereby hindering slurry material fromflowing past the flange.

The flange could, rather than being clamped between the fixed andremovable sections 30 and 32 of the tube 50, be mounted to the interiorsurface of a tube sidewall. As a further alternative, the flange couldbe mounted directly to the auger and extend outwardly to seat againstthe tube sidewall.

During use, the auger 50 is rotated to promote the flow of fluentmaterial, such as concrete slurry, from the chamber 11, through the tube20, down the hose 84 and out of the opposite hose end. The hose 84 isdirected into, for example, an opening in the interior of a block wall,as shown in FIG. 6. The concrete slurry flows into the opening until itis full and the operator must move the open end of the hose to the nextopening. Before doing so, the operator pinches the end of the hose byhand to stop the flow of material through the hose. Then the outlet endof the hose is moved to the next void. Pinching can be accomplished bysimply compressing the sidewalls by hand at one point alone, orcompressing the sidewalls in combination with folding the hose overitself or around an object.

During movement of the hose, a slight pulling force on the hose canrotate the hopper about the central post 96. Rotation of the hopperallows an operator with a small length of hose, such as seven feet, tofill an approximately 20 foot long section of wall. Once the hose ismoved to the next opening, the pinching force is released, therebyopening the discharge end of the hose to permit the flow of concreteslurry into the block opening. A lockdown pin 97 can be extended downfrom the plate 90 into one of four or more apertures formed on the lowerplatform 98 for preventing rotation of the hopper during transport.

During movement of the hose from one opening to another, there is nospillage of concrete, and there is no requirement to slow or stop theauger. Even if it takes a substantially greater than normal amount oftime to move the hose, such as several seconds, a minute, or more, thereis little danger of spillage or of pressure buildup that will cause hoserupture or leakage.

The reason there is no pressure buildup is that the auger does notcreate a significant pressure differential between one end of the augerand the other. There is just enough pressure differential that, incombination with the pressure caused by gravity acting on the slurry inthe hopper, slurry material tends to flow toward the hose. As describedabove, the gap between the outer surface of the auger and the interiorsurface of the tube wall 24 allows substantially free flow of material,thereby preventing any large pressure differentials from being created.When the hose 84 is pinched off, the auger continues to rotate, but theconcrete slurry around the auger 50 is not driven toward the hose. Theauger simply rotates in the concrete slurry around it.

One advantage to the preferred embodiment preventing pressure buildup isthat the hydraulic motor driving the auger 50 does not need to bestarted and stopped during operation. The operator simply pinches thehose and the flow of slurry stops. When slurry is desired to bedischarged from the hose again, the pinching force on the hose is simplyreleased. Therefore, the operator who is pouring the slurry controls theentire machine. And there is no complex valve mechanism at the outletend to become worn out or clogged, or needing regular, time-consumingcleaning.

The gap around the auger cooperates with the flange and the hose. Withthe hose, the user can cut off flow of grout at the insertion point, andthe auger does not need to be stopped, because of the gap that allows itto simply spin and not impel more material down the hose. When the hoseis pinched or kinked, the flange hinders the material that is beinggently impelled by the auger from flowing past the flange into the hose.Without this flange, it would be too difficult to stop the flow of groutmerely by pinching or kinking the hose by hand.

Stated concisely, without the gap, the auger would tend to force groutthrough the tube at too high of pressure to enable a person to stop thegrout by hand kinking the hose. Without the flange, grout could flow toomuch by gravity and under the gentle impelling force of the auger intothe hose when the hose is being pinched, thereby filling the hosefurther and possibly creating too much pressure to hold back by hand.

Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 5. Thehopper 110, auger 150 and hydraulic motor 156 are essentially identicalto those described and shown in FIGS. 1 through 4. The auger 150 isslightly larger in diameter than the auger 50. Instead of a flange, theapparatus shown in FIG. 5 has a compressible, preferably rubber orpolyurethane, cylindrical boot or sleeve 160 occupying the gap betweenthe outer surface of the auger and the interior surface of the tube 120.The sleeve 160 extends around the auger the entire auger length, exceptin the hopper where the sleeve has an opening to permit material to flowinto the auger.

The interior surface of the sleeve 160 abuts the outer surfaces,referred to as the lands, of the auger 150, along the length of the tube120 except at the hose mount, where an opening is formed in the sleeve.This sleeve provides a substantial seal promoting driving of the slurrytoward the hose (not shown). If a rock or stone is forced between a landand the sleeve 160, instead of the rock breaking or deforming the auger,the sleeve 160 compresses, permitting the particle to pass over theland.

The present invention includes a hydraulic hose rest 200 shown in FIGS.2, 13 and 14. The hydraulic motor that preferably drives the auger hashydraulic hoses 202 and 204 that extend from the hydraulic motor to thehydraulic system connectors of a forklift, such as the forklift 104shown in FIG. 6. When the apparatus is not mounted to a forklift, thehydraulic hoses 202 and 204 are connected not to the forklift'sconnectors, but the hose rest 200.

As shown in more detail in FIG. 13, the hose rest 200 has a pair of maleconnectors 206 and 208 essentially identical to those on a conventionalforklift. The male connectors 206 and 208 are threaded onto a pair ofthreaded steel plugs 212 and 214, respectively. The steel plugs 212 and214 are mounted, such as by welds, to a steel plate 216. The hose rest200, therefore, does not connect the hoses 202 and 204 to a hydraulicsystem, but merely attaches them to a stable support by a conventionalconnector.

When the hydraulic hoses 202 and 204 are not connected to the connectorsof a forklift, they should be mounted to the male connectors 206 and208. This will prevent debris from entering the hydraulic fluid withinthe hoses by contacting the insides of the fittings on the ends of thehoses 202 and 204.

It is also well known in the construction equipment industry that whenhydraulic hoses, which are normally black, are exposed to the sun theirtemperature rises. The temperature can change for several reasons, butthis is a very common one. This temperature rise increases thetemperature of the fluid within the hoses, causing the fluid to expand.Because there is little room to expand in a hydraulic hose, the pressureof the fluid increases dramatically, making it very difficult to mountthe hose's female connector to a male connector.

The hose rest 200 has an additional structure that prevents an increasein pressure. The hose rest thereby functions as a pressure release. Asis shown in FIG. 14, a longitudinal passage 220 is formed, preferably bydrilling, and extends from the end of the plug 212 to which the maleconnector 206 mounts to a lateral passage 222. The lateral passageextends from one side of the plug 212 to the opposite side, and ispreferably formed by drilling.

When the temperature of the fluid in the hydraulic hose 202 increasesand the fluid expands, the fluid can push upwardly, as it expands,through the passage 220 and then the passage 222. This path from thefluid in the hose to the atmosphere prevents any pressure from buildingup in the first place within the hose, thereby preventing the problem ofre-connecting the hose to another male fitting.

It has furthermore been found desirable to extend a thin fiber, such asthe pair of half round wires of a conventional “cotter” pin 230 shown inFIG. 13, through the lateral passage 222. The enlarged end of the cotterpin 230 and the bent wires of the opposite end prevent hydraulic fluidfrom squirting straight out of the openings to the lateral passage 222.Any fluid that flows rapidly through the lateral passage 222 is directedby the cotter pin ends in directions that are transverse to the axis ofthe lateral passage 222. Squirting of the fluid is only possible whenthe hose is first connected to the hose rest 200, because once the hoseis connected, all pressure is released and no pressure can build upagain within the hose due to the passages connecting to the atmosphere.

Of course, the passages of the plug 212 could have virtually anyconfiguration as will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in theart, so long as the passages lead from the interior of the hydraulichose in fluid communication with the environment or some other lowerpressure container. An alternative low pressure container is a smallreservoir that the fluid drains into, such as a bellows, that expands topermit fluid to enter the bellows, but contracts as the fluid cools,thereby preventing fluid from entering the environment surrounding thehoses.

While certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendisclosed in detail, it is to be understood that various modificationsmay be adopted without departing from the spirit of the invention orscope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A liquid pressure relief valve for relievingliquid pressure in a liquid-containing hose having a first connector onan end thereof, the relief valve comprising: (a) a second connectorremovably attached to the first connector to permit substantiallyunrestricted liquid communication between the liquid-containing hose andthe second connector; (b) a plug mounted to the second connector, saidplug having a passage formed therein extending through the plug fromliquid communication with the second connector at one end of the passageto a lower pressure container at an opposite end of the passage, forpassing liquid from the liquid-containing hose through the first andsecond connectors and the passage to the lower pressure container. 2.The liquid pressure relief valve in accordance with claim 1, wherein thelower pressure container is the environment.
 3. The liquid pressurerelief valve in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a thin fiberextending through the passage for resisting the flow of liquid throughthe passage.
 4. The liquid pressure relief valve in accordance withclaim 3, wherein the thin fiber is a cotter pin.